Of all the detrimental effects of spinal cord injury (SCI), one of the most devastating is the disruption of the ability to perform functional movement. Very little is known on the recovery of hindlimb joint kinematics after clinically-relevant contusive thoracic lesion in experimental animal models. A new functional assessment instrument, the dynamic feet distance (DFD) was used to describe the distance between the two feet throughout the gait cycle in normal and affected rodents. The purpose of this investigation was the evaluation and characterization of the DFD during treadmill locomotion in normal and T9 contusion injured rats, using three-dimensional (3D) instrumented gait analysis...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of iatrogenic injury to plantar neurovascular structures of the foot during insertion of a curved retrograde tibiotalocalcaneal (TTC) fusion nail. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten below-knee thawed fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens underwent curved retrograde nailing of the ankle. The shortest distance between the nail and the main plantar neurovascular branches and injured structures were recorded during dissection...

BACKGROUND: The Footscan® platform system is one of the most commonly used clinical tools for the measurement of the foot pressure. The present study was designed to assess the repeatability of the system and identify the range of loading parameters observed in the normal foot. METHODS: Measurements were collected from 32 healthy participants, 15 females and 17 males, twice at an interval of 1 week. Peak pressure (PP), contact time (CT), contact area (CA), pressure-time integral (PTI), and maximum force (MaF) were recorded; these parameters were investigated in 10 areas of the foot: medial heel, lateral heel, midfoot, first to fifth metatarsals, hallux, and toes 2-5...

BACKGROUND: Excessive body weight seems to be a risk factor for foot loading. We sought to investigate the effect of different body mass index (BMI) levels on plantar pressure distribution during walking. METHODS: In total, 163 women aged 45 to 65 years (mean ± SD: age, 57.4 ± 5.3 years; BMI, 27.0 ± 5.3) participated in the study. The women were divided, on the basis of BMI, into a normal-weight, overweight, or obese group. The study used the four following plantar pressure parameters (PPPs): contact percentage, absolute pressure impulse, relative pressure impulse, and absolute peak pressure, which were recorded in ten foot regions using a pressure measurement system...

Lesser metatarsal sesamoids are one of the most common accessory bones of the foot and are most commonly seen at the fifth metatarsophalangeal joint. They are rarely seen in other metatarsophalangeal joints. In the literature, there are reports of solitary accessory sesamoid bones seen at lesser metatarsophalangeal joints. We report the case of a 68-year-old woman with lesser metatarsal sesamoids accompanying all of the metatarsophalangeal joints.

The objective of the present investigation was to examine the effect of cuboid height on the presence of plantar midfoot ulceration and the relationship of cuboid height to other commonly performed radiographic parameters during evaluation of midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy. A retrospective analysis was performed of 68 feet in 60 subjects who met the inclusion criteria. We did not observe statistically significant differences in the presence of a plantar midfoot ulceration when considering a cuboid height threshold of 0...

OBJECTIVE: Stress fractures of the proximal epiphysis of the fifth metatarsal bone (termed Jones fracture) frequently occur in both senior high-school-age and older contestant-level soccer players, and its incidence in Japanese soccer players is higher than that in European players. Surgery is most commonly indicated for a complete fracture, and about 3 months are required before the patient is able to return to the sport. We have performed a "Jones fracture screening" to reduce the incidence of these fractures...

Metaphyseal and proximal diaphyseal fractures of the lateral column metatarsals can have problems with healing. In particular, those involving the fifth metatarsal have been associated with a high nonunion rate with nonoperative treatment. Although intramedullary screw fixation results in a high union rate, delayed healing and complications can occur. We describe an innovative technique to treat both acute and chronic injuries involving the metatarsal base from the metaphysis to the proximal diaphyseal bone of the fourth and fifth metatarsals...

Surgeons should understand common factors that predispose high-level athletes to stress injuries as well as the importance of vitamin D and specifics related to vascular supply, location of injury, biomechanics, and susceptibility factors in high-level athletes who have stress injuries. Surgeons should be aware of diagnostic- and management-based recommendations for and the outcomes of anterior tibia, medial malleolus, tarsal navicular, and proximal fifth metatarsal stress fractures in professional athletes...

Jones fractures are among the most common fractures of the foot; however, much remains unknown about their etiology. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the risk factors of forefoot and hindfoot alignment on Jones fractures using an epidemiologic study design. We used a retrospective, matched, case-control study design. Cases consisted of patients with acute, isolated Jones fractures confirmed on plain film radiographs seen at our institute from January 2009 to December 2013. Patients presenting with pain unrelated to metatarsal fractures served as controls...

BACKGROUND: The foot is composed of medial, lateral and transverse arches which, particularly the medial arch, provide it with the ability to function both as a flexible and rigid structure for proper locomotion. Arches of the foot, as well as their effect on lower extremity function, have been studied. However, quantitative data on the relationship between these arches still remain scanty. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine how the three arches of the foot intercorrelate...

[Purpose] This study report a case of a patient with hemiparetic stroke who showed significantly reduced foot pain when ankle spasticity was reduced using nerve and motor point blocks with 20% ethyl alcohol. [Subject and Methods] A 58-year-old woman with left hemiparesis following intracranial hemorrhage five years previously presented with pain in the left fifth metatarsal head for two years (numeric rating scale[NRS]: 8). Erythema and edema were observed on the lateral aspect of the head of the fifth metatarsal bone...

[Purpose] To report an adolescent male basketball player with nonhealing stress fractures of the foot and discuss the probable factors. [Subject and Methods] A 13-year-old basketball player presented with right foot pain. He had been playing basketball for three years and practicing 5 days/week. He denied any increase in daily training intensity. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed stress fractures of the cuboid and cuneiform, with mild edema of the soft tissues between the tarsal bones and tenosynovitis of the flexor hallucis and flexor digitorum longi...

Youth now-a-days are getting more involved in mixed martial arts, with increasing number of cases of lateral foot pain due to various causes. The differential diagnoses of lateral foot pain in the pediatric population include avulsion fracture of the fifth metatarsal base, Jones fracture, diaphyseal stress fracture as well as os vesalianum pedis. We present a case of a 15-year-old athletic boy who presented with left lateral foot pain for a few weeks. The patient was actively involved in Kickboxing as well as active running...

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between the state of the posterior tibial tendon (PTT) on magnetic resonance images and foot deformity. The cases included 34 feet in 27 patients with PTT deformity and the controls included 18 feet in 12 patients who had undergone magnetic resonance imaging for other foot diseases. The PTT was closely examined on the magnetic resonance images and classified using the Conti classification. The control feet with no injury to the PTT were classified as grade 0...

BACKGROUND: Identifying the optimal starting point for intramedullary fixation of tibia and femur fractures is well described in the literature using a retrograde or anterograde technique. This technique has not been applied to the fifth metatarsal, where screw trajectory can cause iatrogenic malreduction. The generally accepted starting point for the fifth metatarsal is "high and inside" to accommodate the fifth metatarsal's dorsal apex and medial curvature. We used a retrograde technique to identify the optimal starting position for intramedullary fixation of fifth metatarsal fractures...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the clinical and radiologic results of internal fixation with a headless cannulated screw versus a locking compression distal ulna hook plate for fractures at the base of the fifth metatarsal bone, zone 1. From April 2012 to April 2015, 30 cases (29 patients) were retrospectively evaluated. The mean follow-up period was 13 months. The patients were divided into 2 groups stratified by the fixation method: screw (group A, n = 15) or plate (group B, n = 15)...

Fifth metatarsal diaphyseal fractures are a common injury treated by foot and ankle surgeons. The limited data on this specific fracture type has promoted nonoperative treatment with immobilization. The primary objective of the present study was to record the radiographic healing time of fifth metatarsal diaphyseal fractures after surgical intervention and present the specific fracture characteristics. The medical records of a series of 64 patients with surgically managed fifth metatarsal diaphyseal fractures were retrospectively reviewed...

PURPOSE: To identify unknown risk factors associated with fifth metatarsal stress fracture (Jones fracture). METHODS: A case-controlled study was conducted among male Japanese professional football (soccer) players with (N = 20) and without (N = 40) a history of Jones fracture. Injury history and physical examination data were reviewed, and the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression controlling for age, leg dominance and body mass index were used to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to describe the association between physical examination data and the presence or absence of Jones fractures...

Os vesalianum is a rare accessory bone located proximal to the base of the fifth metatarsal in the peroneus brevis tendon. It is a radiographic diagnosis and mostly an asymptomatic incidental finding with a reported prevalence of 0.1% to 0.9%. Only 11 symptomatic cases have been described in the literature. Surgical therapy has been reported with good outcome in adults, whereas recurrence may follow excision during skeletal growth. We report a case of a 19-year-old girl with chronic weightbearing pain proximal to the base of the fifth metatarsal of her left foot...